Niclas Füllkrug reclaims the top spot from Switzerland in UEFA Euro 2024 Group A.
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| Substitute Niclas Füllkrug secured a group-topping point for Germany against Switzerland. |
**Germany 1-1 Switzerland**
Goals: 0-1 Ndoye 28' (assist: Freuler), 1-1 Füllkrug 90'+2 (assist: Raum)
Perfect after two games, Germany were already assured of their place in the round of 16 and needed just a point to advance as Group A winners. A Kai Havertz header tested Yann Sommer early on, but Germany otherwise found chances extremely hard to come by, save for a long-range Robert Andrich goal that was disallowed due to a foul by Jamal Musiala in the build-up. Switzerland deserved credit for stifling Germany's creative axis, but they also found joy in attacking areas. Dan Ndoye broke the deadlock on one such occasion, the Switzerland striker sticking out a boot to convert Remo Freuler's cross into the six-yard box. He almost scored a second moments later, but his shot across goal whistled just past Manuel Neuer's far post.
An unchanged Germany emerged from the dressing room in an attacking mood as Florian Wirtz threaded a brilliantly disguised pass through to Musiala. The Bayern Munich youngster wriggled away from his marker on the edge of the area, but his fierce shot was beaten away by Sommer. Toni Kroos pulled an 18-yard strike wide, before Havertz headed a couple of half-chances over. Sommer made a superb block from Joshua Kimmich's close-range attempt as Germany continued to knock at the door, with Leroy Sané and Füllkrug thrown on to knock it down with 15 minutes remaining. Switzerland substitute Ruben Vargas had more of the desired effect, but the Augsburg forward's tidy finish was chalked off for offside. Neuer made a flying save from Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka, before Füllkrug rose highest to head in a dramatic equalizer at the other end and set up a last-16 showdown with the runner-up in Group B (England, Denmark, Slovenia, or Serbia).
**Match Stats**
- Switzerland advance as runners-up and will face the second-place team in Group C (Spain, Italy, Croatia, or Albania).
- Füllkrug has scored 13 goals in 19 senior international matches.
- Nagelsmann took charge of his 11th game as Germany head coach (W6, D3, L2).
- Switzerland had won just once in their last 21 meetings with Germany (D4, L16). This was their first win over their European neighbors at a major tournament.
- Neuer made his 18th appearance at a Euros, setting a new record for a goalkeeper.
- Hoffenheim's Maximilian Beier made his Euros debut.
- Bayer Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah collected his second yellow card of the finals, ruling him out of Germany's last-16 tie.
**Line-ups**
**Switzerland:** Sommer - Schär, Akanji, Rodriguez - Widmer, Xhaka (c), Freuler, Aebischer - Rieder (Vargas 65'), Ndoye (Amdouni 65') - Embolo (Duah 65')
Unused subs: Mvogo, Kobel, Stergiou, Elvedi, Zakaria, Okafor, Steffen, Zuber, Zesiger, Sierro, Shaqiri, Jashari
Coach: Murat Yakin
**Germany:** Neuer - Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tah (Schlotterbeck 61'), Mittelstädt (Raum 61') - Andrich (Beier 65'), Kroos - Musiala (Füllkrug 76'), Gündoğan (c), Wirtz (Sané 76') - Havertz
Unused subs: Baumann, ter Stegen, Groß, Müller, Anton, Henrichs, Koch, Can, Undav
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann
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